Kiosks or vending machines for dispensing items are well known to those of skill in the art. Some kiosks utilize a gripper arm to remove a selected item from its storage area within the kiosk and transport the item to a dispenser. Particularly, some kiosks that dispense DVDs (digital versatile disks), CDs (compact discs), or similar items utilize a rack system in which the DVDs (or similar items) are stored on shelves in a rack within the kiosk. When a customer selects a particular DVD (or other item) from the kiosk for purchase or rental, a gripper arm will travel to the shelf location in the rack to pick up the DVD. The gripper arm will then slide the DVD out of the shelf and transport the DVD to the dispenser slot or chute.
In such prior-art kiosks, a problem may occur if one or more DVDs are not properly and completely located within the confines of the rack system. For example, if a kiosk with a standard rack system is shaken or tilted, one or more DVDs may partially slide out of their respective shelves. In such a situation, the DVDs may obstruct the path along which the gripper arm travels. Thereafter, when a customer selects a DVD for purchase or rental, the gripper arm may collide with a DVD that is in the gripper arm's path of travel. This may cause the gripper arm to jam and/or damage the DVD obstructing its travel path. Furthermore, the gripper arm may not be able to reach the selected DVD and therefore the customer cannot obtain the selected product. In addition, if the gripper arm becomes jammed, then the kiosk may become entirely inoperable.
In other situations, one or more DVDs may become completely dislodged from their respective shelves if the kiosk is greatly tilted or shaken. In such situations, the DVDs may slide out from the rack completely and fall to the floor of the kiosk. Thus, customers could no longer purchase or rent such DVDs.